Chapter 10

Captain Phasma enters the Officer's Dining Hall, her presence alone carrying the weight of an army. Pates's shoulders immediately relax, as General Hux's expression returns to a neutral glare.

"Captain, good to see you've returned from your expedition-"

"Pleasantries have never been your forte, General. I wouldn't suggest starting now," Phasma interrupts, before turning to Pates, "Chief Engineer Laylesa…"

"I'm not Chief Engineer anymore," Pates corrects her.

Even through the blackened visage of her helmet, Pates can tell that Phasma is looking directly at her. She stares at her for a few brief seconds before turning back to Hux.

"General, I have important matters to discuss with the Chief Engineer. So unless you two were discussing more...imperative concerns-"

"Not at all! Good day Captain!" Hux marches off, beelining for the door as fast as he can.

Captain Phasma and Pates look on as the general disappears behind the automatic sliding doors. Captain Phasma looks back at Pates, as Pates smiles and chuckles a little bit.

"Thanks for that."

Phasma reaches towards the back of her head, the airlock connecting her suit to the rest of her armour releasing, letting out a hiss of air as she removes her helmet. Phasma's unkempt, short-trimmed blonde hair falls just below her nose on one side.

Placing the helmet on a nearby table, Phasma collapses into one of the dining hall chairs, leaning back in it as she puts her feet up on the table. Cradling her blaster in her arms, she grabs a napkin from the table and starts cleaning it.

"The general has a point, you know. The First Order thrived under your technical leadership. And now it flounders as old men quibble over politics."

Raising an eyebrow, Pates puts her hands on her hips, "Oh, I'm not doing this song and dance with you too, Phasma-"

"No. If it were up to me I would put a blaster to your head and demand you retake your position. But even I can appreciate the general's more...diplomatic approach."

Pates laughs as she sits down opposite Phasma, "'Diplomatic'? You call his methods diplomatic? Armitage is driven by nothing but power lust and pure, selfish desire," Pates crosses her arms and looks out the viewing window, "the only reason he cares about me is because I'm useful."

"Useful is a very ideal thing to be," Phasma points out, "it makes you indispensable. If you had been any less useful to Hux and the First Order, the general would've had you executed a long time ago."

Pates's glance shifts downward, and to the side, "I know you don't like to deal in sentimentalities, but I thought he would've at least told me-"

"I understand your anger," Phasma cuts in, catching Pates by surprise, "Hux betrayed you, destroyed your home planet using the weapon you designed for him. But what you need to understand is that it wasn't about you. It was about eliminating the enemy-"

"But what about my parents?!" I stand, "They were loyal to both the Empire and then the First Order! Why weren't they warned, why weren't they evacuated? No doubt there were hundreds, maybe even thousands of others on those planets who supported the First Order. Why did they have to die?!"

Phasma looks upon me with a stoic curiosity, "The entire Senate needed to be obliterated in order to destabilize the Republic, not just those on the main planet. You know yourself that your parents would have gladly given their lives for the First Order."

Pates turns away from Phasma, walking over to the viewing window to stare out into the vast expanses of space, "The thing is...I don't know if they would have. Not to suggest that my family was insubordinate but...they weren't combat units of any kind."

There's a long pause from Phasma, even without her mask she's very reserved in showing any emotions. Finally, she sets down her blaster on the chair, "Personally, I think the general miscalculated. The strategic advantage of obliterating Asice versus risking your loyalty was entirely misbalanced. But that's just my personal opinion. You know I value loyalty above all else. And you have been nothing but loyal."

Phasma stands, securing her helmet back on as the automatic doors slide open, and Kylo Ren marches into the room. Seeing him mobile in his full armour, rather than slow and sustained in his personal chambers, his movements are actually quite awkward, and to Pates, almost a little familiar.

"Captain Phasma," is all he says, lumbering to the center of the dining hall.

He takes a moment for his helmet to rest in my direction. He gives me a silent stare for several seconds, "This is the Officer's Dining Hall, Pates Laylesa. You are not an officer, what is your business here?"

"She is here to discuss the plans for our new superweapon," General Hux rejoins the conversation, hurriedly entering the room.

Ren seems to be caught off-guard, his heavy armour slowing what otherwise would have looked like a flinch, "...superweapon?"

A gleeful smile crosses Hux's face, as he slows his walking pace to a leisurely saunter, "Of course. You wouldn't think there wouldn't be a new superweapon in production? With the Republic Senate decimated and the Resistance on the run, what's stopping us?"

"Has this been approved by Supreme Leader Snoke?" Kylo Ren questions.

"The project is still in the planning phase, the Supreme Leader doesn't need concern himself with this right away-"

"Then let's give her an audience with the Supreme Leader so she may present her plans," although it's framed as a suggestion, Kylo Ren's tone makes it more of a command.

Pates turns to Hux, careful to hide her anger, but her teeth gritted and her fists clenched. Hux however keeps his confident smile.

"For once you have an excellent idea, Commander Ren. The Finalizer should be docking at Supreme Leader Snoke's personal Dreadnaught the Supremacy. There a meeting with the Supreme Leader will be arranged-"

"I must disagree with the both of you," Phasma interjects, "if this so-called 'plan for a superweapon' is only barely in its nascency, it would be too hasty to begin presenting promises to the Supreme Leader-"

Hux interrupts Phasma, more indignant than ever, "She can do it. I've seen it. I've seen the plans she has; hidden in her private quarters she has blueprints and prototypes for several new technologies. Since she resigned from her position as Chief Engineer who knows what else she's created that she's hiding from us-"

"I've had enough of this," Pates puts her foot down, "there will be no superweapon in development. Not now. Not from me."

Pates storms out of the dining hall, Hux reaches out as if he's about to say something, but a stern turn of the head from Phasma stops him. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren watches on with stern silence.